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Kellogg takes bold action to tackle climate change

Kellogg today became the second global food giant to say it will take industry-leading steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions in its agricultural supply chains in line with climate science. This is in response to actions by more than 238,000 supporters of Oxfam's Behind the Brands campaign.

The campaign called on the ten biggest food and drink companies - Associated British Foods, Coca-Cola, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg, Mars, Mondelez International, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever - to do more to tackle climate change in May. All companies have shown different levels of ambition in tackling climate change, but both Kellogg and General Mills were singled out to do more. General Mills announced similar plans to Kellogg last month.

Monique van Zijl, campaign manager for Oxfam's Behind the Brands campaign, said: "We welcome Kellogg's efforts to become an industry leader in the fight against climate change and the damage it is causing to people everywhere. Kellogg's new commitments add momentum to calls on governments and the wider food and agriculture industry to recognise that climate change is real, it's happening now, and we need to tackle it."

Most significantly, Kellogg, the maker of well known products like Corn Flakes and Pringles, specified that it will for the first time set targets to reduce "Scope 3" greenhouse gas emissions. This means emissions from agricultural production, where the majority of the company's pollution occurs, will have reduction targets for the first time.

It will also sign-on to the Climate Declaration and join the Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), a leading advocacy coalition of businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful climate and energy legislation.

Monique van Zijl said: "Climate change is putting hundreds of millions of people at risk of hunger and threatening everything from coffee and cereal to wine and chocolate. Kellogg is joining a growing list of companies that are putting the weight of their brands behind climate action."

Oxfam's Standing on the Sidelines report, revealed in May that the 10 biggest food and beverage companies together emit so much greenhouse gas that, if they were a single country, they would be the 25th most polluting in the world. By pursuing industry-leading measures to cut emissions from their agricultural supply chains, General Mills and Kellogg are showing that much more can be done by everyone in the industry to reduce climate pollution.

Monique van Zijl said: "We applaud Kellogg for taking this vital first step. We look forward to tracking the actions the company takes to follow through on their promises. There is no longer a question of whether consumer action can produce results. The real question is whether the wider industry and our political leaders will get ahead of the wave or wait to be crushed by it."

The series of new sustainability commitments announced by Kellogg include a number relating to climate change. These include:

1) Defining and disclose a total supply chain greenhouse gas reduction target, including scope 1, 2, & 3 emissions, by December 2015, including agriculture emissions reductions. The targets will use a science-based methodology approved and endorsed by industry and other stakeholders to be consistent with the goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.

3) Establishing a climate change adaptation strategy that incorporates the needs of smallholders in its supply chain by December 2015.

4) Expanding a zero net deforestation pledge to high-risk supply chains by 2020. This expands its previous commitments for palm oil and packaging to include other supply chains at high risk for deforestation and land degradation including soy and sugarcane.

5) Disclosing their top three suppliers of palm oil, soy, and sugar cane, key drivers of deforestation and land use change.

6) Participating in the CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project), including annual reporting on Scope 3 emissions data and responding to the Forests Information Request.

7) Publicly advocating for effective and efficient public and industry association policy, such as encouraging the Grocery Manufacturer's Association to make climate change a priority.

8) Joining BICEP and sign-on to the Climate Declaration.

9) Regularly reviewing company statements and policies to ensure they are aligned with mitigation targets, plans, and adaptation initiatives. Report on governance-related activity on climate policy where material.

10) Including climate and deforestation policies in Supplier Code of Conduct and supplier expectations for all high-risk commodities of material significance.

11) Addressing issues raised by Oxfam and its partners about its palm oil suppliers in Indonesia and Liberia.